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NVLife_NovDec_2012

MILJENkO “MIkE” gRgICH ▲ Winemaking legend featured in documentary Mmigrated from Croatia to the 366 acres naturally, without artificial fertilizers,competitions never thought of from the NapaValley. Today, his Grgich Hills Winery farmsiljenko “Mike” Grgich wasthirty years old when he Napa Valley via Canada to escape communisim. pesticides or herbicides. His college professor had described California In 1999, Mike returned to Croatia for the first as “Paradise,” and Mike knew the Golden State time; he started a winery there and taught other was where he wanted to be. His older sister had Croatians about world-class wine making. He has already migrated to Washington; she had a son been inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame who was a priest at Christian Brothers in Napa and is now the subject of a new documentary, Valley and promised to help Mike. He worked Like the Old Vine, which premieres this month at hard and studied the art of wine making until the Napa Valley Film Festival. The documentary he made wine like no other. The man who was filmed by Croatian Radiotelevision in always wore his iconic beret rose in the following the Napa Valley, the Smithsonian Institute in sixty years to command and mold the Napa Washington, D.C. and Mike’s birthplace in Valley wine region as a world-class leader. Long Desne, Croatia. Just shy of his ninetieth birthday, before his historic Chardonnay won the 1976 Mike enjoys telling stories and meeting someone Paris blind tasting, Mike’s wines were winning new each day. REBECCA kOTCH TODD zAPOLSkI Local bicyclist takes it to the street Big ideas for downtown center Rhas fully integrated into the community, bringing her passion for TNapa Valley for someodd Zapolski hasbeen involved inebecca moved to Napa from Los Angeles and never looked back.A five-year creative stint has turned into twelve years, and Rebecca cycling (she is a former bike road racer) to her role as a Board Member of the time, but he recently leapt to Napa County Bicycle Coalition (Napa Bike). The organization champions prominence when he acquired improved transportation conditions for cyclists (commuters, enthusiasts and the stumbling Napa Town Center tourists), including bike lanes, road conditions and safety measures. in downtown Napa, and three “Being part of Napa Bike has allowed me to channel my marketing and adjacent properties along First retailing background into putting a face on the Coalition and showing locals, Street. His Zapolski Real Estate including our local government, the value of bike riding in Napa Valley. is now the most important Ultimately Napa Valley should be developer/owner in downtown right up there as a world-class cycling Napa and will help reinvigorate destination just as it is for wine and the struggling area. food. We need to provide not just the He plans to undertake a major perception of beautiful and safe roads, renovation of the property to create The Shops at Napa Center, a 156,000- but make them a reality.” sq.-ft. street retail/lifestyle center of top national and local retailers. Zapolski Rebecca is responsible for creating envisions even national retailers tying their efforts to the strong Napa brand, a forthcoming Bike and Motorist perhaps even offering special Napa items, as Restoration Hardware already Awareness Campaign called “Be Bright,” does, or having wine bars in their stores. West End Napa lifestyle store, or which teaches the mutual responsibility NapaStyle in Yountville, though not in his complex, are perfect examples. for drivers and bicyclists to respect the road. She also has recently started a “I want to make it a destination for locals as well as visitors,” he says. He “Gals Gone Riding” group for women also plans a boutique 150-room hotel in the Merrill Drugs space—keeping the of Napa Valley, and is integral in many attractive façade—and a few distinctive restaurants. of the Napa Bike events such as “Bike Zapolski first came to Napa in 1996, and instantly fell in love with the Fest” and the annual “Legendary Napa lifestyle, the people and the energy of Napa Valley. He founded Zapolski Valley Ride” featuring celebrity cyclists. Real Estate in 2008. Before that, he managed Zapolski + Rudd, a real estate Of course, she wishes she had more time to ride herself, but has no problem investment and development firm he created with Leslie Rudd that built a going out for a century ride such as the Tour de Napa, Tour de Fuzz, or doing diverse portfolio of retail, office and multi-use properties in the Southeast, Levi Leipheimer’s Gran Fondo in Sonoma County—103 miles and 9,000 feet Napa Valley and San Francisco. of climbing. N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 21


NVLife_NovDec_2012
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